Cincy on the Prowl
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Cincinnati Bearcats 2015 Fall Football Practice Report: Day 1

By Chris Bains

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It was a gloomy, rainy, and downright nasty afternoon but I still made the trek down to the Sheakley Athletics Center to take in UC’s first Fall practice of the 2015 season. If a little bad weather doesn’t stop the Bearcats from hitting the field, it shouldn’t for me either.

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You really don’t get a sense of how much energy this team has until you take in one of their practices. Today’s was ran in 18 4-5 minute segments during which players were flying through reps, trying to get in as many as they could for the afternoon. Between sessions coaches shuffled players around in huge groups while barking commands for the following drill. It was remarkable to see in person and really speaks to the focus and professionalism of this staff.

The best moment of the day came during 7-on-7 drills. Gunner Kiel, atop the depth chart at quarterback for good reason, took all of two snaps. Both of which went for long bombs to Chris Moore and Max Morrison. After that the coaches had seen enough and determined that UC’s star signal caller didn’t need to practice anymore. He was sidelined for the younger quarterbacks to finish the drill.

I certainly got a kick out of it as well as Eddie Gran using the first practice to give his vocal chords a workout. UC’s offensive coordinator wasn’t deterred by the rain or cold and spent the hour-or-so practice screaming at his players and keeping them in line. Tommy Tuberville wanted nothing to do with the weather and spent good portions of the afternoon under cover. Part of his decision was probably driven by the fact that  Gran was all over the practice.

Here are some additional notes from today’s practice.

  • Former quarterback Jarred Evans has retained his #12 jersey but has indeed been moved to the defensive backfield. He got some reps at both safety and cornerback, performing well at both. Despite the change of position, Evans is still displaying the size-speed combination that made him such an incredible dual threat quarterback when he signed with UC. He had a couple of pass break ups and bobbled an interception as he was falling to the ground. Overall, Evans has displayed a very positive attitude with the position change.
  • Running back Mike Boone got quite a bit of run with the first team offense. He lined up next to Gunner Kiel more than any other back. Now, Hosey Williams also got reps with the starting offensive unit but the majority went to Boone. You can probably pencil him in as the starter at this very early point.
  • The starting offensive line appears to be, right to left, Justin Murray, Delonte Murray, Deyshawn Bond, Ryan Leahy, and Parker Ehinger.
  • The depth chart at quarterback is of course led off by Kiel but redshirt freshman Hayden Moore is his immediate backup, which wasn’t too surprising considering his performance in the Spring. But the third and fourth stringers are led by Luke Wright and Ross Trail respectively, the latter of which will likely redshirt this year.
  • Speaking of Trail, the four star quarterback had an up and down day. On one pass on a deep post route, he dropped the ball perfectly into the arms of the receiver but on another same route, he overthrew his target by five yards. That’s not unexpected for a player in his first ever collegiate practice but overall I’m impressed by his fundamentals, which mirror Kiel to a tee.
  • Among the best performances at wide receiver, of course Chris Moore makes the list. He was in fine form and was a handful for the UC cornerbacks to contain. But other stars include Tshumbi Johnson, who made the best cuts of the day on the slick turf, and Nate Cole, who leapt into the stratosphere to bring down an overthrown pass over the middle. As you know, this receiver corps is talented and deep.
  • Side note, Cole will be carrying on Jeff Luc’s legacy of hiking up his jersey to his chest.
  • A funny moment occurred when two receivers were running routes for two quarterbacks. They were confused on which target was their’s and both threw underneath while Mekale McKay was left looking for the ball ten yards further downfield. His reaction of “what am I, invisible?” made me chuckle.
  • Virginia transfer Jamil Kamara is wearing #17 and doesn’t look that big in person but certainly is putting the work in. He and Kahlil Lewis stayed after practice in the pouring rain to work on breakaway moves and running routes.
  • Let’s close with uniforms. I thought the Under Armour practice jerseys looked very nice and you can see a picture of them below, with tight end Tyler Cogswell featured. Even more so did I love the grey ones that the captains, like Shaq Washington pictured above, wore. I’ll try to get a closer shot of them tomorrow because they look almost like game day jerseys just based on the quality. That’s Under Armour for you!

Tyler Cogswell and Cincinnati’s new Under Armour practice jerseys.